Loom



Aug. 17, 1954 B. E. FITTS 2,686,537

LOOM

Filed Dec. 27, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 [27 V5.27 [UP .5644 V film 4,90 firm B. E. FITTS Aug. 17, 1954 LOOM 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 27, 1950 f7 .VE n [:7 -Z .3640 1 22140920 flrrs 1954 B. E. FITTS 2,686,537

LOOM

Filed Dec. 27, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 in F227 [a F Benn r, ZZwaeofirrs by l l 1727575.

Aug. 17, 1954 s. E. FITTS LOOM Filed Dec. 27, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 i {I Bemar Fan/4,20 E7715 lfus.

Patented Aug. 17, 1954 UNITED STATES LOOM Application December 2'7, 1950, Serial No. 202,963

13 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a loom adapted for weaving fabric with projecting loops at desired intervals. Specifically, this invention relates to attachments for standard looms to pull pile Warp threads into loops at desired intervals without slowing up or stopping the weaving operation.

According to this invention, a standard loom, such as a dobby head equipped Draper loom, is provided with a reciprocating carriage assembly carrying a row of hooks which are positioned to engage pile warp threads and pull the threads into loops projecting from the surface of the cloth being woven by the loom,

A feature of the invention resides in the provision of latches for selectively connecting the carriage with the lay of the loom so that the lay will pull the hooks into the shed of the pile warp threads.

Another important feature of the invention resides in the utilization of the dobby head to control the latches so that the carriage is pulled by the lay of the loom only at the desired intervals whereby the loops can be formed as desired on the fabric.

A still further important feature of the invention resides in the provision of plunger rods for actuating the latches in such a manner that exact timing of latch operation is not necessary.

Yet another important feature of the invention resides in the utilization of the lay to push the hook carriage toward the front of the loom for pulling out the loops to the desired length.

The loom of this invention is adapted to be operated at high speeds and is quickly and easily adjusted to vary the spacing and arrangement of the pile loops. The looms are especially useful in the weaving of so-called shag rugs.

It is, then, an object of this invention to provide a loom for weaving looped pile fabrics such as shag rugs wherein the lay of the loom is utilized to impel mechanism for pulling pile warp threads into loops projecting from the fabric.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple attachment for standard looms whereby the lay of the loom is utilized to selectively operate a reciprocating hook carriage to pull hooks into engagement with pile warp threads and to push the hooked pile warp threads a desired distance for pulling loops of desired length from the surface of the fabric being woven without stopping the weaving operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a high speed looped fabric producing loom which utilizes a standard reciprocating lay to actuate the loop pulling hooks.

Another specific object of the invention is to provide a slidable hook carriage on a loom With latches adapted to selectively engage keepers on the lay of the loom and to selectively control the position of the latches relative to the keepers through dobby head actuated plunger rods.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a loom adapted to continuously weave pile fabric with locked in woven loops wherein the standard lay of the loom is utilized to propel and repel a sliding hook carriage which forms loops of selected lengths and at selected intervals on the fabric.

Other and further objects of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in this art from the following detailed description of the annexed sheets of drawings, which disclose a preferred embodiment of the invention.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a loom according to this invention.

Figure 2 is a transverse vertical cross-sectional view, with parts in elevation, taken along the line II-II of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but illustrating the relative positions of the parts at the start of the loop pulling operation.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the hook carriage assembly.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view, with parts in vertical cross section, of the hook carriage and lay assembly illustrating the position of the parts as the lay starts to pull the hook carriage into operative position.

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5 but illustrating the positions of the parts at the end of the loop pulling operation.

As shown on the drawings:

The loom I 0 shown in Figures 1 to 3 is a conventional Draper loom equipped with the loop forming attachments of this invention. The loom [0 includes side frames H, II, a front breast beam I2, a front arch l3, and a rear arch M. A lay i5 is mounted on swords l6, l8 swingably carried on amounting shaft l1 anchored in the v end frames l i, H. The lay l5 swings from the forward position of Figure 2 to the rearward position of Figure 3 by the operation of cranks C on the crankshaft of the loom. Links L connect the cranks C with the lay.

The loom is equipped with three harnesses including a rear harness L8, a middle harness 19, and a front harness 20. Each .of the harnesses carry the conventional heddles 2l with eyes re.- ceiving the warp threads there-through.

The rear and middle harnesses are suspended from straps 22 anchored to rollers 23 on an auxiliary shaft 24 carried between the front and rear arches I3 and M on supports 25. The straps 22 from the rear harness i8 wrap around the rollers 23 in a clockwise direction while the straps from the middle harness l9 wrap around the rollers 23 in a counterclockwise direction when viewed from the sections of Figures 2 and 3 so that rotation of the rock shaft 24 or the rollers in a clockwise direction will raise the rear harness l8 and lower the middle harness 19, while rotation in the opposite or counterclockwise direction will raise the middle harness 18 and lower the rear harness It.

The lower end of the harness i8 is connected through a bottom strap 25 with a treadle 21 pivotally mounted at the rear end of the loom on a shaft 28. A similar bottom strap 29 connects the bottom of the middle harness H with a second treadle 3Z3 pivoted on the shaft 28. The treadles 21 and 30 are respectively actuated by cams 3| and 32 on the cam shaft 53 of the loom. The harnesses l8 and 19 are thereby moved upand down to create sheads of the warp threads by successive raising and lowering of the treadles 21 and 30. Conventional picker sticks 34 (Figure 1) move a shuttle 35 across the lay (5 in front of the reed l5a of the lay and between the top lay beam 511 and the bottom lay beam or track 150. Rigid end straps l5d connect the top and bottom lay beams 52) and 150 in fixed spaced relation.

The harnesses I8 and I9 and the shuttle 35 manipulate the threads for producing a flat woven fabric in accordance with standard weaving practice.

The front harness 20 is added to the loom according to this invention to form a shed for pile warp threads to produce the pile loops. This harness 20 is connected through cables 35 which are trained over pulleys 3? carried between the arches I3 and 14. After passing over the pulleys 31 the cables 35 are anchored to a lever 38 of the dobby head attachment 35 for the loom. This lever is tripped by the dobby head to raise and lower the front harness 20. An elongated coil type tension spring 49 is anchored at one end to the bottom of the front harness 20 and at the other end to a frame bracket B of the loom for pulling the harness downwardly to maintain the cables 38 in a taut condition.

A second lever 41 on the dobby head attachment 39 actuates a cable 42 trained around a pulley 43 carried between the arches l3 and I4 and thence under a pulley 44 rotatably mounted on the side frame of the loom near the bottom thereof. After passing under the pulley 44, the cable 42 extends forwardly to a roller 45 anchored on an auxiliary rock shaft 48 carried by the side frames ll of the loom. This roller 45 receives the cable therearound in non-slipping relation and the end of the cable is anchored to a horizontal spring 41 secured on the frame of the loom. The arrangement is such that the spring 41 rocks the shaft 46 in one direction and when the lever 4| pulls the cable 42 the shaft 46 is rocked in the opposite direction.

Cams 48 are secured on the rock shaft 48 near the side frames H, and these cams engage treadles 49 pivoted on stub shafts 5B of the loom. Springs 5| anchored on the side frames H of the loom pull the free ends of the treadles 49 upwardly against the cams 48.

Plunger rods 52 are slidably mounted near the front end of the loom adjacent the side frames H in guides 53 carried by the side frames. These plunger rods are anchored at their lower ends to the front ends of the treadles 45 and are depressed downwardly when the cams 48 lower the treadles against the action of the springs 5i.

The upper ends of the plunger rods 52 are offset to extend closely adjacent the inside end of the breast beam 12 at the ends of the lay.

The upper ends of the rods 52 have inclined cam heads 52a integrally affixed thereon.

Angle brackets or plates 54 are detachably mounted on the breast beam 12 adjacent the side frames ll. Each plate 54 includes a top leg extending over the top of the breast beam and projecting rearwardly therefrom toward the lay. Each plate 54 also includes a downturned leg at the front end of the loom which is bolted by means of bolts 55 to the front face of the breast beam.

Elongated channels or slide boxes 56 are secured to the top legs of plates 54 along the outer edges of the legs to extend over the breast beam I2. Guide bars 51 are slidably mounted in the channels of the boxes 56. The front ends of these bars 51 are affixed to cross bars 58 extending transversely between the slide bars.

The rear cross bar 55 at the inner end of the slide bars 5'! carries an angle strip 59 having a rearwardly projecting horizontal leg on which are fixedly mounted a horizontal row of hooks 50. The hooks project rearwardly from the angle plate 59 toward the lay l5.

The assembly of slide bars 51, cross bars 58, and angle strip 59 constitutes a hook carriage which is slidably mounted on the loom in front of the lay and is guided in the boxes 56 which are secured to the breast beam of the loom. Since the slide boxes 56 are affixed to the angle plates 54 which are bolted onto the breast beam, the entire assembly can be easily mounted on and dismounted from the loom.

The tops of the slide boxes 56 have detachable top plates 560'. as shown in Figures 5 and 6. A spring shim 6| is interposed between each top plate 56a and the top of the slide bar 51 so that the hook carriage will be firmly guided and will remain stationary until positively propelled or repelled as hereinafter described.

The slide bars 57 have combined bumper and latch support members 82 adjustably secured on the tops thereof adjacent their rear ends. These supports 62 have upturned vertical legs 62 a in spaced parallel relation covered by a top plate 621) spanning the space between the top ends of the legs. Latches 63 are pivotally mounted between the vertical legs of the lugs 52 under the top plates on pins 64 which are secured in the vertical legs. These latches project rearwardly from the legs toward the lay I5. The rear ends of the latches are downturned at 63a to fit in keepers 65 secured on the top beam l5b of the lay.

The supports 62 have base portions 620 with elongated slots therein receiving screws 65 therethrough connecting the supports with the slide bars. The base extends rearwardly beyond the bar 51 to terminate flush with the downturned end of the superimposed latch when the latch is in its keeper 65.

Each latch 63 has a laterally extending swing 63b overlying the cam head 52a of the adjacent plunger rod 52.

When the earns 48 on the rock shaft 46 depress the plunger rods to positions such as shown in Figure 5, the latches 63 are free to drop into the keepers 65. On the other hand, when the cams 48 are rotated to move their high sides away from the treadles 49, the springs 5| will raise the treadles to raise the plunger rods 52 to positions such as shown in Figure 6, whereupon the cam. head 52a will be effective to engage the wing 63b of the adjacent latch 63 to raise the latch and disengage the end 63d of the latch from the keeper 65. The top plate 62b prevents the latch from swinging over forwardly so that it will drop by gravity into the keeper when released by the cam. head 52a.

The hook carriage is thereby selectively connected with the lay for reciprocation therewith whenever the dobby head control pulls the cable 42 to rock the shaft 46 for depressing the plungers 52. On the other hand, when the dobby head releases the cable 42 so that the springs 5| can raise the plunger rods 52', the latches will be disengaged from the lay and the lay will reciprocate independently of the hook carriage.

The bases 620 of the latch supports 62 rearwardly toward the top beam i5b of the lay to be engaged by the beam on the forward stroke of the lay so that the lay will push the hook carriage ahead of it. These bases form bumpers to relieve the load on the latches 63 after the lay has pulled the carriage into the pile shed on its rearward stroke and starts on its return stroke. Since the latches are not under load on the forward stroke of the lay, the temporarily depressed plunger rods can be raised any time after the lay has pulled the carriage rearwardly toward the pile shed a sufiicient distance so that the wings 63b will be positioned rearwardly of the cam heads 52a and before the lay starts on its next rearward stroke. With the latches engaged and the plunger rods in raised position, the lay, on its forward stroke, will push the hook carriage ahead of it, thereby moving the wings 63b of the latches over the cam heads 52a. The cam heads will thereupon lift the latches out of the keepers as shown in Figure 6. Since the bumpers 620 have taken the load off of the latches, the latches are easily lifted.

With the latches in the raised position of Figure 6, the lay will push the hook carriage to its forward position at the end of the forward stroke of the lay. The spring shims 6! will hold the carriage in its forward position until the plunger rods are next depressed to permit the latches to drop by gravity into the keepers. The position of the latch support 62 is adjusted forwardly and rearwardly on the slide bars 51 by loosening the screws 66 so that the base can slide because of the slots therein receiving the screws. The rearward position of the base or bumper 62c determines the forward position of the hook carriage, since the carriage is pushed forwardly by the lay through the bumper. The forward stopping place of the hook carriage determines the length of the loops pulled by the hooks and therefore the mechanism is easily adjusted to vary the length of the loops.

As best shown in Figures 2 and 3, the threads for forming the flat ground fabric are supplied from a warp beam 61 rotatably mounted on the rear end of the loom between the side frames I I, II. This warp beam supplies two sets of ground warp threads 68 and 6!! which pass over and under tension bars 19 mounted on straps such as 'H carried by the rear arch I4 and the end frames l I of the loom. The ground warp threads 66 pass through the eyes of the heddles 2| in the rear project i 6 harness l8. through the eyes of the heddles 2i in the middle harness [9.

The pile warp threads 12 are fed from a source such as a creel (not shown) through the dents of a comb or reed 13 carried on straps such as 14 from the rear arch l4. These pile warp threads pass around tension rollers and are threaded through the eyes in the heddles 2| of the front harness 20. A swingably mounted press roll 15a coacts with one of the rolls [5 and the pile threads 12 pass through the nip between these two rolls. A conventional let-off mechanism (not shown) can be used to rotate the coacting rolls l5 and 15a for feeding pile thread to the m as needed.

All three sets of pile warp threads 68, 69, and 12 pass through the reed l5a of the lay [5. The shuttle supplies the weft or filler thread 16 and the woven fabric is trained over a breast roll 11 and is wound into a roll 18 on a doifing spindle 19 carried by the front end of the loom.

As illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, the looped fabric woven by the loom has a fiat ground or base composed of the ground warp threads 66 and 69 and filler threads 16. The pile warp threads 12 are also woven into the ground and are pulled up at intervals by the hooks 66 to form the loops projecting above the ground fabric.

From the above descriptions it will therefore be understood that this invention provides attachments for standard looms such as a dobby head equipped Draper loom which attachments pull up pile loops from the ground fabric woven by the loom. These pile loops are woven into the ground fabric and are spaced as desired by positioning of the hooks. The hooks are detachably but fixedly carried on a reciprocating carriage which is impelled by the lay of the loom at intervals where the loop pulling operation is desired. The hook carriage has simple gravity actuated latches pivoted thereon for coacting with keepers on the lay and these latches are selectively operated by plunger rod impelled cams. The plunger rods, in turn, are selectively operated from the dobby head of the loom. The loop pulling operation is fast, and, since it occurs simultaneously with the standard swinging movement of the lay, the weaving operation is not stopped or slowed up in the least. The lengths of the loops are selectively controlled by shifting the latch mountings on the hook carriage. These mountings provide bumpers through which the lay pushes the carriage in the loop pulling operation. The cooperation of the latches on the hook carriage with the cams on the plunger rods makes possible simplified operation of the latches that does not require accurate timing to produce the desired results.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a loom adapted for weaving fabric with projecting loops which comprises mechanism for shedding ground warp and pile warp threads, a reciprocating lay receiving said Warp threads therethrough, shuttle means coacting with said lay for weaving a weft thread between said warp threads, a carriage slidably mounted on said loom in front of said lay, pile warp thread engaging hooks on said carriage, latches pivotally mounted on said carriage, keepers mounted on said lay for receiving the latches therein, said latches having inclined cams thereon, plunger rods slidably The ground warp threads 69 pass mounted on said loom, cam heads on said plunger rods for engaging the inclined cam surfaces on said latches, cams for raising and lowering said plunger rods, a dobby head on said loom, a cable impelled by said dobby head for operating said cams to raise and lower the plunger rods, and bumpers terminating flush with the rear ends of the latches for causing the lay to push the carriage on the forward stroke of the lay, whereby the cam heads on the plunger rods release the latches free from the load of the carriage.

2. An attachment for a loom adapted to pull loops from fabric being woven on the loom which comprises a hook carriage, means slidably mounting the hook carriage adapted to be fixedly attached to a loom, latches on the hook carriage adapted to engage the lay of the loom, said latches having cams thereon, plunger rods having cam heads coacting with the cams on the latches for raising the latches to disengage the hook carriage from the lay of the loom, and means for raising and lowering the plunger rods at desired intervals, whereby the lay of the loom will operate free from the carriage when the plunger rods are raised and propel the carriage therewith through the latches when the plunger rods are depressed.

3. A loom attachment for pulling loops on ground fabric woven by a loom which comprises a pair of slide boxes, a hook carriage having slide bars slidably mounted in said slide boxes, a combined bumper and latch device on each slide bar, means adjustably positioning said device relative to the slide bar to project rearwardly therefrom toward the lay of the loom, each device including a gravity actuated pivoted latch and a rearwardly projecting bumper adjacent the latch, a cam on each latch, and cam actuated plunger rods controlled by the loom cooperating with the cams on the latches to raise the latches.

i. A loom adapted for weaving looped fabrics which comprises continuously operable mechanism for weaving ground warp threads, pile warp threads, and a weft thread into a fabric, a movable carriage on said loom having a row of hooks thereon adapted to engage pile warp threads, a reciprocating lay on said loom adjacent said carriage and receiving the pile warp threads and ground warp threads therethrough, means confining said carriage to a path of movement parallel to the path of movement of said lay, latch means between said carriage and said lay selectively connecting said carriage and said lay for pulling said carriage rearwardly for engagement of the hooks thereon with the pile warp threads, bumper means engaging between said carriage and said lay and relieving the load on said latch means when said lay pushes said carriage towards the front end of said loom, actuating means engaging said latch means for releasing said latch means to disconnect said lay and said carriage, and control means actuating said actuating means before said lay begins its return rearward stroke, whereby said hooks will pull loops up from the ground fabric during the Weavingoperation and said loops will have a length determined by the extent of forward movement of said carriage.

5. In a loom adapted for making looped fabrics, the combination with mechanism including a lay for continuously weaving pile Warp threads, ground warp threads, and a weft thread into a fabric, of a movable carriage, track means confining said carriage for rectilinear reciprocable movement, a plurality of fixed hooks on said carriage to pull pile warp threads up from the ground fabric for forming loops projecting from the ground fabric, and intermittent actuating means between said carriage and said mechanism selectively connecting said carriage to said lay for unison movement therewith to impel said carriage at spaced intervals.

6. In a loom for weaving ground warp threads, pile warp threads, and a weft thread into a fabric and having a reciprocating lay, the improvement of a movable carriage on said loom having fixed hooks adapted to engage the pile warp threads for pulling loops up from the ground fabric, track means confining said carriage for motion on a path parallel to the path of movement of said lay, and locking means selectively connecting said carriage with said lay to be pulled and pushed in unison with said lay longitudinally of the warp threads.

7. In a loom adapted for weaving fabric with projecting woven-in pile threads at desired intervals which comprises mechanism including a reciprocating lay for continuously weaving a fabric, a hook carriage, means confining said carriage for reciprocal movement on said loom in front of said lay, abutment surfaces between said lay and said hook carriage engageable with one another for effecting unison movement of said lay and said hook carriage in one direction, latch means selectively connecting said hook carriage in tractive coupling with said lay for unison movement therewith in an opposite direction, and cam actuating means controlled by the loom and disengaging said latch means at desired intervals, whereby the carriage is impelled by the lay only when pile threads are to be pulled up from the ground fabric.

8. In a loom adapted for weaving fabric with projecting loops including mechanism having a lay for continuously weaving pile warp threads, ground warp threads, and a weft thread into a fabric, improvement of a movable carriage, means confining said carriage for slidable movement on said loom for rectilinear reciprocation longitudinally of said warp threads, a plurality of fixed hooks on said carriage adapted to enage the warp threads, latch means selectively connecting the carriage with said lay of the Weaving mechanism to cause the hooks to pull the pile warp threads into loops at desired intervals, and intermittent control means selectively disengaging said latch means to move said carriage in unison with said lay only at desired intervals.

9. In a loom adapted for weaving looped rugs and including a reciprocating lay, loop pulling mechanism adapted to engage pile warp threads positioned in front of said lay, latch means on said loop pulling mechanism and keepers engaged by said latch means on said lay, and means for adjusting said latch means to vary the spaced relation of said loop pulling mechanism and said lay for adjusting the length of loops pulled by said loop pulling mechanism.

10. In a loom including a reciprocating lay, a movable hook carriage, means confining said hook carriage for rectilinear movement on said loom in front of the lay, hooks on said carriage adapted to engage the pile warp threads, latches on said carriage, keepers on said lay coacting with said latches to interconnect said carriage and said lay for pulling the carriage rearwardly into the shed of the pile warp threads, bumper means between said carriage and said lay to push the carriage forwardly with the lay after the hooks have engaged the pile warp threads to pull the pile warp threads into loops and to relieve the load on said latches, and cam mechanisms driven cyclically by the loom and coacting with the latches for selectively disconnecting the latches and the keepers after the bumpers have relieved the loads on the latches.

11. In a looped rug forming loom having weaving mechanism and a loop pulling mechanism, latch and bumper means between said loop pulling mechanism and said weaving mechanism selectively pulling the loop pulling mechanism into the shed of the pile warp threads and pushing the loop pulling mechanism to pull up the loops from the ground fabric, respectively, and means for adjustably positioning said latch and bumper means to vary the spatial relationship of the weaving mechanism and the loop pulling mechanism for adjusting the length of the loops.

12. A loop pulling attachment for a loom which comprises a pair of slide boxes, means for mounting said slide boxes in fixed relation on a loom, a hook carriage having slide bars slidably retained in said slide boxes and confined thereby for rectilinear reciprocable movement, means between said slide bars and slide boxes for holding said hook carriage at desired positions, latch and bumper means mounted on said slide bars, including a swingable latch member and a bumper providing an abutment surface adjacent the free end of said latch member, and means for adjusting said latch and bumper means on each slide bar to control the positions of the hook carriage.

13. In a loom adapted for weaving fabric with projecting loops including mechanism for advancing ground warp and pile warp threads, mechanism for shedding threads, a reciprocating lay receiving the threads therethrdugh, shuttle means coacting with said lay for weaving a weft thread between said warp: threads, a movable carriage in front of said lay, means confining said carriage for rectilinear reciprocable movement, selectively engaged abutment surfaces between said carriage and said lay for effecting unison movement in one direction of said lay and said carriage, a, plurality of loop hooks fixed on said carriage and engaging the pile warp threads, latch means between said carriage and said lay detachably connecting said carriage and said lay for unison movement therewith in an opposite direction to engage said loop hooks with the pile warp threads, and actuating means for engaging and releasing said latches including control means for said actuating means activating said actuating means cyclically in synchronism with the movement of the lay.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 222,477 Ellison Dec. 9, 1879 2,547,824 Kahn Apr. 3, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 1,931 Great Britain of 1861 5,621 Great Britain of 1891 

